this is the new project that i am working on at the moment with the infamous Mediamatic - great project, great people and more to come.... i am writing the actual trips that people will be subscribing to and taking! just finished working on Naples and onto Budapest... check it out, join the Mediamatic website and become a fan!

http://www.mediamatic.net/index.php?lang=en

Mediamatic Travel

Trips to the cultural underground

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  Nile River Cruise

Next year Mediamatic will release the new 2009 Mediamatic Travel Guide. Mediamatic will help you travel the world and see the best contemporary art while you do it. Mediamatic will facilitate trips to the cultural scene in the less accessible places of the world.

The travel agency will operate from Mediamatic’s new location on the Vijzelstraat and facilitates real trips. It has an international website where locals can introduce themselves to you. All participating artists and travellers will help with providing content and keeping the website up to date. This way Mediamatic travel does not only work for Dutch travellers, but will become a global sensor network for cultural development.

The printed travel guide will show that there is more than pyramids, the big five, old temples, camels and folklore. Contemporary art is around the world. And around the world there are people who want to share it with you.

The international network will become the start of the first DIY travel agency in the world. The site will be compiled and edited by travels and artists together. Travellers can make their own dates with artists and cultural institutions. Unlike a normal travel site, Mediamatic Travel is focussed on discovering, promoting and financially supporting artistic destinations.

Sustainability

The travel agency and the website are based on the idea that cultural groups and individual artists who will receive the travellers will receive a decent salary. This seems obvious, but somehow is still far from common practice in cultural travel.

With Mediamatic Travel we would like to contact a broad audience and make them aware of the contemporary cultural production in post-conflict areas, politically or economically sensitive areas or developing nations. We would like to stimulate and support this production. Furthermore, Mediamatic Travel will aim for worldwide cultural engagement. We envision the development of a sustainable model, which will be a self-renewing digital network for international cultural exchange.

Destinations

The unconfirmed list of destinations: Cairo, Damascus, Novosibirsk, Tbilisi, Beirut, Durban, Dubai, Nairobi, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Budapest, Mexico City, Gaza, Istanbul, Tirana, Prague, Kyoto, Rio, Cape Town, Iran, Argentina, Naples

Partizan Publik

Mediamatic Travel is being developed in collaboration with Partizan Publik

Girlfriend Experience follow up

Here are the pictures from the Girlfriend Experience that took place on Friday and Saturday evenings in Nova Gorica, Slovenia for the pixxelpoint New Media Festival last weekend -
http://picasaweb.google.com/aliwats/TheGirlfriendExperienceDoesSlovenia#

the 'experience' went very well! Thanks to all of you that helped spread the word and came to play while we were online! The Dutch Embassy in Slovenia (our sponsor) and the people curating and putting the festival on were very happy as well. It was really fun to see the people there figure out that they could mess with their friends in the room through the avatars! I am sure that we will do the experience again this next year and I will keep you posted so that you can play too!


Check out the other works that were featured at this as well....

The exhibition, distributed between Nova Gorica and Mostovna, is the result of a difficult process of selection of the more than 110 applications arrived this year; a selection that should take into account not just the quality of the proposals, but also their ability to embody the suggested theme in a different way, and to integrate effectively the projects shown by the invited artists. The exhibition consists of 30 works by 30 different artists. Among them, etoy’s Mission Eternity project, described as a “digital cult of the dead”; the network of meditating computers set up by the German artists Ute Hörner & Mathias Antlfinger; the Empathy Box by the Italian collective Io/cose, which helps building a spiritual community based on the sharing of pain; the anti-institutional, new media rituality suggested by Otherehto; Martin Conrads and Ingo Gerken’s conceptual work, an
interrogation on the ritual use of communication technologies; and then Gazira Babeli and Patrick Lichty’s video-installation 7UP, a research on the meaning of an avatar life, and Janez Jansˇa’s remake of Koyaanisqatsi, which uses Google Earth as a source. The video screening, situated in the Galerija Tir in Mostovna, collects all the videos on show at the festival, putting together some brand new works with recent “classics” such as Negativland’s The Mashin’ of the Christ (2004) and Eddo Stern’s Deathstar (2004) , an exploration of the relationship between religion and violence.

'The Girlfriend Experience' is coming to Slovenia!

Martin Butler's project 'The Girlfriend Experience' has been invited to the For God's Sake/Pixxelpoint Festival in Nova Gorica, Slovenia this Friday and Saturday!!! The G-F Experience is produced in partnership with Mediamatic and is sponsored for the festival in Slovenia by the Dutch Embassy!

Click on the Mediamatic link here for all the information you need to watch it from the comfort of your own computer! This is going to be big, and we have emailed and notified people from all over the world to log on Friday and Saturday to 'play' with the avatars that will be performing for this event!

yes, please take a couple of minutes out of your day (you know, a break from checking the Superficial or bbc - whatever time-wasters you usually check when you need a mental break from work...) and play on the Girlfriend Experience!

Martin has invited me to work production for this event and I am very honored and excited to have been brought along on this excursion! Check it out and there will be little updates along the way of the trip, the festival and other new, if not cheeky, developments!

Shoes garage sale for another week

The sale at the Shoes Garage is going on for another week! If you haven't had the chance to come by and check out what we have, come by this week! We still have many models left and want you to give them good homes!
Thanks and see you this week!

the turkey that ate thanksgiving

i hope your Thanksgiving was amazing and spectacular! ben and geraldine were kind enough to host a large Thanksgiving feast at their home this year and we had the great pleasure of having this feast with 15+ people, most of whim were enjoying their first Thanksgiving!

here is the turkey that caused the household to shake..
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10 kilo!!!!! seriously almost broke my bike
and this is the end result

and then more of the festivities...

a note to the idiots that stole my computer

I must say that while your breaking into the house on 19 november was remarkable considering the fact that you broke in from the BACK which is not accessible from the street, stealing my computer was really irritating. the fact that you didn't take much else is great, but showed me that you are indeed ameteurs. and shame on you for taking my friend's cufflinks - those were special to him. not that you care, considering the fact that you are heartless and lame. thanks for making my week difficult. if i find you, i am under strict instructions to harm you in the bollocks - don't think i won't.

new opportunities

At the risk of exploiting friends, colleagues and others that check this site, I am looking for some part-time or full-time work to supplement the business I am operating... While dealing art and working in the art industry is my passion and will remain a life-long ambition/endeavour, monetarily, I am needing some other work to enable survival and other facets of life for the time being. If there are any in the community here in Amsterdam that know of anything that could work, I am more then happy to hear of it and chase it down. thank you thank you and thank you for your help and understading in this matter.

In the meantime, I will keep the updates and word-on-the-street coming at you a few times a week :) Because God forbid we miss something that could turn out to be interesting and entertaining... thanks!

my brother is a rock star

http://vimeo.com/1367285

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AntERR4lt90

for some reason i can't embed this.... but it is super cool. our friend katherine is the star and the video is great...

enjoy!

NEW gallery premiere in Amsterdam 8 november

my friend Justin is is hosting the grand premiere of his new gallery on the Lauriergracht here in Amsterdam tomorrow night! please come out - fabulous work and a good partie with all of the beautiful people...

TEN HAAF PROJECTS

Bruce Gilden ‘’Coney Island’’

November 8th –December 31st 2008

Opening reception and book signing by Bruce Gilden: Saturday the 8^th of November 5-8 pm.

www.tenhaafprojects.com

Ten Haaf Project is pleased to announce the exhibition ‘’Coney Island’’ by Bruce Gilden. The New York based Magnum photographer Gilden is known for his dynamic way of documenting city life, of the eccentric and the unusual that inhabit the city.

His close ups, often with a flash give the viewer a sense not looking at a picture, but being part of the picture themselves. In Bruce Gilden his own words: ‘’ I am known for taking pictures very close, and the older I get, the closer I get.’’

The pictures on display in the gallery are from Gilden his body of work: ‘Coney Island’’ All images are shot at the famous beach in New York, between 1968 and 1986. Coney Island was one of the first places Gilden went to photograph, and a place where he still goes.

From its heyday in the early 20^th century when every New Yorker went the celebrate summer to the 70ties where the poor that could not escape New York went to relax, Coney Island has changed. Also today Coney Island is changing rapidly.

The photos on display in the gallery are also shown in the book: ‘’Coney Island’’ available in the gallery.

Bruce Gilden was born in 1946 In Brooklyn. Since 1971 he has been exhibiting in numerous museums and galleries worldwide. Gilden has received numerous grants and awards for his work including three National Endowments for the Arts fellowships (1980, 1984 and 1992), a Villa Medici’s Hors les Murs (1995), New York State Foundation for the Arts Grant (1979, 1992 and 2000), the European Award for Photography (1996) and a Japan Foundation Fellowship (1999).

Ten Haaf Projects
Laurierstraat 248
1016 PT Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: 020-4285885
info@tenhaafprojects.com

Gallery hours: Wednesday- Saturday 12-6 pm, and by appointment
Download the digital invitation here

OBAMA WON!!!!
see the way things went down here
and the Bruce Springsteen song has never been truer... I am very proud of the country I come from today - we managed to elect the first African-American President in US history and just having him in office will change the face of relations and influence for the US the world over. in a good way. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. President-elect! Thoughts and prayers are with you now more than ever - you are going to need it ;)

EDIT: to all of my chicagoans - i hope you had the time of your life last night! could there have been a more exciting time to be in chicago other than this? well, maybe the world fair of 1893, cubs winning the world series in 1908, the fire (not good) or perhaps that time radiohead played for free in grant park in 2003... either way, i am really really jealous and hope you enjoyed the sweetness of the victory to it's fullest ;)

Election Night!!!

Alrighty friends, compatriates and celeb-junkies!

Election Night is here! On the European continent, it is now almost 8pm and there is a buzz of people all over the city looking for the bar or house or screen-only-used-for-video-games-on -a-regular-basis that they intend on gluing themselves to until 3 or 4 in the morning. In this way, we can do our small part to rally support for all of you in the US that are fulfilling your American rights and duties. Update to come tomorrow on who the winner of tonight's major decision will be! Complete with pictures and hopefully some videos ;)

In the meantime, I have updated the picasa pictures and there will be more coming of Halloween and some times out with friends from other corners of Europe!

here are some live feed sites for you...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/nov/04/uselections2008-twitter
http://www.ustream.tv/
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/cnns_election_night_plans_99141.asp

have a great night, happy voting and GO OBAMA!!!!

on a lighter note...

I have to briefly pay homage of the only celebrity blog that i follow.... mr. www.thesuperficial.com, you have saved me from many a too-serious moment with great and much-needed laughter at the expense of celebrites that enjoy exploiting themselves. everyone that enjoys sarcasm with a side of crass, please check out this site. i promise you will thank me for it later.

today's post complements the post I just made about the elections... some things are just too good to pass up. please excuse the language, but anyone who makes americans look this ignorant can be spoken of in no other tone. so we'll let it slide this time.

'Heidi & Spencer, Goddammit...

More: 2008 election , Heidi Montag , sarah palin , Spencer Pratt

Before everyone births a walrus, I've been avoiding these two like the plague. That said, I've been bombarded with e-mails today alerting me to Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's latest, and most shitass, photo shoot yet. In an obvious effort to get my attention, the Douche Twins posed in Sarah Palin shirts while holding a shotgun, six-pack and Harry Browne's book "You Can Profit From a Monetary Crisis." This, of course, comes extremely close to meeting condition #2 of my criteria for post-worthiness:

However, to show that I'm not an unreasonable man and for the sake of journalist integrity, I will make the following exceptions in allowing you on this site:
1. Heidi wears a bikini.
2. Heidi covers her topless chest in maple syrup while stumping for Sarah Palin at a Klan rally.

Granted, there's no Aunt Jemima or Klansmen, these two asshats couldn't be more gay for Sarah Palin if they started throwing Bibles at poor people. Anyway, to all my conservative readers, feel free to thank Heidi & Spencer for officially costing you the election. In fact, you can pinpoint the exact moment John McCain loses in these pictures: Right when someone forgot to load the gun. Smooth.

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Update on VOTING!

this just in...

It is NOT too late to register to vote in some states!

You still have time to register to vote in:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, , Illinois (military voters only), Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin (military voters only)

The deadline for Guam is today October 24th!

And if you were already registered to vote in a state, it may still be possible to request a ballot. Check OVF's State Specific Voter Information: https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/state-voter-information-directory
See the same pages for options to send your forms or ballot to your election office too.

For those of you who just received your ballots and want to return them as quickly as possible, go to https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/ExpressYourVote.htm
to take advantage of "Express Your Vote" to FedEx your ballot home at a reduced rate from Europe -- and at no cost at all in some regions.

courtesy of marina.... thanks for the info! Sadly, most of the people that I have talked to here in Amsterdam have shirked their responsibilities and chosen not to cast their votes. If you are one of the darlings that DID vote, comment and let your beautiful voice be heard! perhaps it will serve as an encouragement to others for action in the future... at the very least, it will encourage me ;) thanks friends!

it's official - harry potter books are crack

so i have been sick for a couple of days (coming off a long couple of weeks :) ) and my friend's house that I am staying at has all of the Harry Potter books. i needed something brainless and entertaining to nurse my sickiness and i didn't feel like rotting all day in front of the tv - so i chose Harry Potter. I love the movies, and this is my first stab at reading the books. I tell ya, they are crack! I seriously can't put them down! i know this has been the plight of many a reader before my time with these terrifically popular and mildly controversial books, but seriously... at this point, i need to get through the rest of them as fast as possible so that i can be done and become more addicted to answering emails (yes, in the wake of the Harry Potter adddiction, quicker responses have waned). they are really great though, and i relish the idea that i will havve read the final two before they come out on the silver screen. in other news, projects are coming, proposals are being written and exhibitions are being created. but this is way more interesting for the moment. now, to find a new series for the next time i fall ill... any suggestions?

this is all her fault, by the way... thanks a lot, ms. rowling!

salmon salad

As many of you know, my greatest love in this city resides at a place called 'Puccini' - a sweet little cafe behind the University of Amsterdam and just before you hit the Waterlooplein market. The salad served at this place is one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. Seriously - no exaggeration. This salad has been the 'reset' button for many a moment in my life here in Amsterdam. When you come out to visit, please please please make sure that we go there to expereince this culinary wonder. If you are not able to make it out here for whatever reason, here are the main components:

baby field greens
1 small quartered tomato
1 quartered hard-boiled egg
4 sun-dried tomatoes
2 halved artichoke hearts
handful of seed mix (pinenuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds)
2 blanched asparagus spears
filet of smoked or fresh (but cooked) salmon
dallop of creme frâiche/dill/pepper/salt/paprika mix

Toss the lettuce, SDT and seed ingredients with a simple white wine vinagrette (dallop of whole-grain mustard, bit of honey, salt, pepper; mix together and add 2 Tbsp of white wine vinegar. then add 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil while stirring all the other ingredients). Around the edges of the salad, place the artichokes, tomatoes and eggs. Place the salmon atop the salad, with the asparagus spears crossed over it. Finish with the dallop of creme frâiche mixture and a bit of ground pepper. (can you tell I have had this a couple of times?)

ENJOY!!!

Presenting...

As promised, here is the cast of the oh-so-talented people that were involved in the 'Geboeid' production that is now going to tour Holland and beyond...

Suzanne Marx - Senior coreographer and Director. More coming from her soon... very lovely woman that had the vision for this piece and surrounded herself with very talented people to pull it all off beautifully!

Francis Sinceretti - Dancer in the role of the Shiek - part of the Nationale Balletacademie and the Nationale Ballet in Holland. Classical background and was hemmed into the 'hip-hop' fold very well

Martin Tint Barnes - Dancer in the role of the 'Love interest' - from Manchester, England, has been here in Holland for 2 years and is with the ISH dance company - amazing perforrmance and the first queation I got from people was 'how does he do that with his body?'... seriously, watch for this guy...

Sarita Keilman - Dancer in the role of the 'Turkish girl' - recently graduated from dance academy here in Holland and is very soon coming out to LA to fulfill a scholarship with the Millenium Dance Studio! I will be contacting some of you soon to hook up with her out in Cali! Extremely talented girl - watch for her as well...

Martin Buter - Assistant Director and Advising - my dear, dear friend that really helped bring polish to the show and can visualize and insert powerful emotion into an already good performance, thereby making it magical. It was great working with him and I sincerely hope there will be more of that to come.

Streamer/DJ Alec Smart (Gary Shepherd) - Very talented DJ that mixed the music for the show, held it together and applied that push to turn it into a great preformance. He does other shows, parties, all kinds of projects - great man to have on your side.

Maximillian Erhardt - Harpist - another darling friend that brought the blending of the classical with the 'hip-hop' feel and made it WORK. From Germany, he is in his final year that the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and will be a world-famous harpist before you know it.

Rosa Ana - Rap and Song - this girl is fabulous - wrote the raps that glued the whole show together. Like other rap divas, she owned the story and made it come alive with edginess and glamour. More coming from her very soon as well...

Kirsten Schötteldreier - Soprano - a sweet woman from Germany, she has performed in operas here in Holland, Germany and Italy. She is pursuing more productions like this and was very kind to work with.

And Beyond... - Yoland and Brigitte - Costumes - These girls have a great place in the middle of the red light district and made innovative costumes that worked really well for the show. Check out their stuff @ www.andbeyond.nl

Overall, it was a lovely production, very privilaged to have worked with these people and I wish them all the best in their upcoming endeavors. They are going to tour around Holland and I am hoping to join them, but we will see if that ends up materializing.... More to come (of course)
pictures of the production will be on picasa soon...

'Geboeid' premiering TONIGHT!!!

Of all weeks that I should be blogging...

Here is reason for hiatus - I have been working as production manager ('production bitch' has become the affectionate term - long stroy involving Britney Spears...) for a show that is opening TONIGHT at Podium Mozaïek

for a hip-hop and classical dance and music blend called 'Geboeid'. I am very very proud to be a part of this production - everyone involved is fabulously talented and we have had a really great time working on this. It is the story of a young Turkish girl that finds herself torn between the hip-hop life and boy that she loves and the obligations of family and culture. Beautiful... I will list the first and last names of the lovely people that involved tomorrow for you so that you can follow their careers ;) Martin Butler and Maximillian Ehrhardt are my dear friends that got me involved in this and it has been really wonderful working with them!!! I think I adore them even more, if that was possible!

Show starts at 9pm tonight and Saturday - come out and see it!

Overseas Voting - DO IT NOW!!!

For all of the lovely Americans overseas that need to vote before it is too late (like tomorrow), here is some info that can help you get this done... the ladies at the American Women's Cllub Amsterdam pointed me to all of this info - thanks Ruth!

First, the deadline for us to register for the absentee is SUNDAY!!! Take a couple of minutes and do this NOW if you haven't already...

- For the registration and write-in https://fawco.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/FwabStart.htm
or https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/home.htm
After you fill this in, you still have to MAIL IT IN... you can find the office that you need to send it into on the assitance guidelines site below...

- Voting assistance guidelines (if you need a notary or anything like that...) http://www.fvap.gov/for-voting-assistance-officers/vote-guide/index.html

Also, I heard the US Consolate is doing something on tomorrow or Monday (you would have to call them...) to help people if you feel that you need the extra bit of help.
I am not the most politically-active person on the planet, but i think we can all agree that this is pretty important...
Good luck and happy voting!

ps - for a good laugh, check out Leo DiCaprio's youtube commercial trying to get people to vote...

silly celebs...

Amsterdam is awesome

and here is a wonderful little article from the New York Times online magazine to prove it.

http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/09/21/style/t/index.html?WT.mc_id=TM-D-I-NYT-AD-BIG-TRV-HP-0908-RF&WT.mc_ev=click#pageName=21intro

A good friend of mine here in Amsterdam that is a fellow international forwarded this to me - reading articles about the city you are currently residing in is always fun and slightly weird at the same time. There are several places, restaurants, sights and shops mentioned that I have had the pleasure of frequenting or at least visiting. Very fabulous to hear that someone else the same opinion of many of these places, and I find myself wishing there were some other places that are note-worthy as well. The weird part is reading another person's take on it - especially when it is written with language like 'scenesters', 'avant-gardists' and 'beer and babes crowd'. I abide just near the '9 straatjes' and have been in/ridden past those shops a million times. Truly is one of the best neighborhoods in the city. The funniest is the timeline of 'things to do' - I would LOVE to meet the person that can pull all that off on that timeline!

Enjoy getting to know this lovely city in the way I have always wanted to be able to tell it...

Linkedin updated!

In the on-going effort and desire to network and connect with as many lovely people as possible, I have finally updated my Linkedin profile! Just what you were all waiting for, I am sure.

Where's the art?

In soaking up all of the information and innovations being offered here at PICNIC 2008, new questions are starting to develop in my mind. As an agent seeking to sell, promote and propel artists and galleries, searching for greater networks and exposure to get in front of collectors and companies is a neccessity. How can web presence and connectivity impact and change the face of business in the art world?

There are many ideas that are rolling around about webwork for the arts: 'virtual museums', galleries selling their work online rather than face-to-face, artists relying on their blogs and website to do the selling for them. How can we make these ideas work better for us? How can we make it more personal? And how are we supposed to find all of this information?

A couple of things have stood out -
Blogging and using tools to make the visual stand out (Zemanta and Visualblog), using keywords for easier searching, copyright protection for the artists and galleries through Creative Commons, etc. These are all tools that can bring great exposure to the artists and galleries, make them easier to find, and protect the value of their work.
How can all of these tools be tied together and keep the connectivity personal for the collector?

Check out networking sites like ArtLimited, ArtOlive and the big-wigs like Saatchi Online and others. There are loads of places you can gain information on the market: Luxury Culture magazine, EYEMAZING, GUP, and many more. These are all great resources for gaining a better idea of what type of work is out there, the quality and background on the artists and what is on the horizon for 'the next big thing'. These are webs that are incorporating comprehensive images, information and background on the work that is showcased. But in the end, most people want to SEE the work in person, they want to MEET the artists or connectors. How can we get them there?

An interesting idea presented yesterday here at PICNIC by Fiona Romeo from the Maritime Museum in London - mapping artifacts and artworks to tell a story about the items they have in their collection. Using Google topigraphical maps, they insert images of the pieces from specific collections in meaningful patterns that create context for the objects. This makes the work come 'alive' on the web! There is a way to find where these pieces came from, why they are important and what makes them distinctive. What if we could do the same with mapping for galleries and artists? Give context and access to these places that look intimidating to new crop of collectors? What would that look like?

Considering the overwhelming amounts of information on the internet and the intimidation factor many percieve galleries to have, one can conclude that most are not terribly motivated to dive into finding the work they want. What if by mapping these galleries and artists we could reach collectors and companies more effectively? By personally working in partnerships with galleries and artists to create 'virtual walking tours' we can provide context and information and invite them into these places that they would not have ventured into on their own. This could also serve to give access to people in other cities and countries to find context in a place where they had none. This way, when people choose to visit the galleries or contact the artists, they will already have a connection to the work they are asking about and would be more prone to purchase work in a shorter time frame.

Saying this will take work is an understatement, but it is work worth pursuing if it can connect more collectors and businesses to valuable and emerging artworks.

PICNIC 2008!!!

Please forgive the next-day blogging...

Thursday Sept 25 was a great day here! Loads of great people, connections, learning platforms, innovation and fun... the onslaught of media has been mind-boggling. Cameras everywhere interviewing unsuspecting passer-bys; corporate CEO's hanging out with fresh entrepreneurs, and all the visual eye-candy you can think of.

I have spent the majority of time here in Europen Bloggers Lab learning more about the world of web-journalism, connectivity and better tools available to enhance and create better practies in these areas. Major sites of interest were Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org), Zemanta (www.zemanta.com), We magazine (www.we-magazine.com) and Wobbing. There were also some speakers touching on internet presence in Italy and other corners of the world. In terms of tools, I am really excited to start using CC for the artworks that I represent through my company, Embellish. And Zemanta will make my life a million times easier once I figure out how to make it work for me....

Also, for live links and more visual enjoyment of PICNIC 2008, check out www.livefrompicnic.com in addition to the www.picnicnetwork.org link

(pictures aren't uploading... i will post some visuals when i can ;) )

TRIPPEN and VEJA Shoes on eBay!!!

Amsterdam and all of Holland! Friends! We are selling shoes from the Shoes Garage (the shop owned by Ben and Ge)!!!! They are really nice shoes, and we are selling them for far below what they are worth - we are working on liquidating the stock in hopes of new ventures with the business and taking this space in a new direction!

Please check them out and let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

http://search.ebay.nl/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&dfsp=17&from=R40&satitle=TRIPPEN&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D3&sadis=200&fpos=Postcode&fbfmt=1&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=17%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

http://search.ebay.nl/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&dfsp=17&catref=C6&from=R40&satitle=VEJA&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D3&sadis=200&fpos=Postcode&fbfmt=1&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ga10244=10425&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=17%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

GREEN GRAFFITI!!!

These guys are colleagues here in Amsterdam that have a very very cool marketing company watch the link below for a demonstration - don't worry, most of it is in english ;)

Scroll down to "Emergency Earth: Planet Meltdown - Report 8" and watch the video

http://www.mtv.nl/artikel.php?article=8160

Basically, they use templates and a high-powered cleaner (street cleaner, something of the like) and create and image on the street!  it is "reverse graffiti", earth-friendly, and clean!  depending on the area, the image can last from 2 weeks to 7 months depending on the traffic!  In some cases, they will come back in a few weeks time and clean the whole street so that it can be 'fresh' from the marketing.  

www.greengraffiti.nl

We are partnering with them for our Reckoning projects, future projects and a clean air campaign coming up here in the Netherlands in october. their work is great, they are really wonderful and exciting guys to work with and we are excited about the possibilities in the future!  check them out, hire them yourself, spread the word!

up-coming openings

my friend and colleague, jimmy rage, is holding an opening on the 29th august - showcasing his work, other islanders, specifically highlighting aruba!  http://www.arti.nl for more information... sculptures, paintings and photography are in the bill, along with caribbean bites and specialty drinks!

also, a gallery that i am working closely with in recent months is hosting an opening here in amsterdam - the witzenhausen gallery (www.witzenhausengallery.nl) proudly presents stefan á wengen 'nightology' - paintings that are dark, structurally-focused and done with ghostly showdowing effects - incredible work! check their site for more images... and the folks at witzenhausen are also opening a couple more galleries in NYC in september!  but more to come on that as we get closer... 

blogging-a-go-go

hi there all :) 

it has been a nutty summer and i have learned that i have to be keeping this thing up everyday - yes, yes, this is something that most people understand, and i 'got it' before, but now i 'get it'. now that i am a bit more established here in Amsterdam, life is taking off, getting businer, actually feel like i live here and am not getting kicked out of the country anytime soon, i need to be on top of this thing. so, more updates and i hope that there are still those of you that read this :) please check my picasa page at www.picasaweb.google.com - all my pics are updated, and there are little taglines that lead you through the story of things that have been going on, with people and all that good stuff.   that will be the easiest way to get caught up for the moment :) there are some other blogs that will be coming out from me soon, so i will keep you on the horizon for that :)

peace out

a week in the life.... man, weeks are too short!

things happening all the time here... it has been a busy week! 

 -  for Reckoning (the non-profit) we were invited to participate in the Bos en Lommer festival in the neighborhood of Bos an Lommer here in Amsterdam. We put up a giant canvas for people to paint on, we made artist trading cards (art on playing cards) with kids, and gave everyone that stopped by a chance to do something creative!  It was very well received by the city office that invited us to participate as well as all of the kids and parents that stopped by. Hopefully this will be a strong part of our getting to know more people in the community of Bos en Lommer so that our upcoming project in Oktober can have a significant impact! very cool...

 - I am working on some potentially big projects with my business, Embellish. I have been doing sales and overall marketing assitance with our friends, Ben and Ge, and their "Shoes Garage" - sales of up-scale shoes by Trippen and Veja (Brazillian fair-trade smeakers)!  Great to be working there, but this week has been a bit slower than had hoped... next week! I am also talking to a couple of galleries in the area about some strategies for them and growing them in the international markets. looking very promising.... keep you posted on that. Overall, locally, i think my work needs to be focused more in event planning and catering if need be. So July is going to be spent strategizing and making the most of the connections that i have :) and making more!

 - shawna and the kids are leaving for russia on tuesday and i will se living at friends Ben and Ge's house while they are in France for the summer!  this means I get to live alone for over a month!  our friend Alycia Lee just moved out here as well, so she will be holding down the fort at the Snow house. good times this month and really refueling for a busy busy fall!  

that is all for now - i am using a computer that is not mine at the moment, so i will upload some pics soon.... and the picasa site is coming together in regards to updating :) 

hope you are all well and will be keeping you posted on more developments! 

WOW... to say the least

Ok, so i am still alive (VERY alive, indeed) and have completely shirked my responsibilities in keeping this updated. please accept my most sincere apologies. enough of that.... EXCITING THINGS ARE AFOOT!!! please let me give you a reader's digest version of the past 6 months (wow... again) *** for a VISUAL tour of life, please click on the picasa link on the right***

DECEMBER
you saw a bit of the beginning, but there was a ton more...
- mom and dad came out (soooo great)
- my business to keep me here in the NL was officially registered
- there was a ton of company at the house the whole month - old friends and new, so it was really fun

JANUARY
- honestly, really spent really recovering from december
- shawna and i did a cleanse (jackie, i am sure you would have been happy not to be there for that :))
- i prepared for my trip to florida and chicago

FEBRUARY
- went to florida to connect with the international mentor network (by alex mcmanus) and be a part of their humana conference... met some really spectacular people that are in different corners of the USA working hard to live "missionally" and be major connectors and impactors in the name of God in their communities. rad people.
- flew to chicago to be with the family, connect with friends and supporters, take the rest of my stuff from mom and dad's place. it was really wonderful to truly RELAX with mom and dad and fall back into our family rhythm for a bit (i am tearing just thinking about it.... you all know how great my folks are) and have some really excellent time with them. with friends and contact in chicago, i met with TONS of people (booked end to end daily while in the city) and made more contacts for some cross-continent connections for my business, Embellish (more on that to come soon). very good time, lots of really great intentional conversations with dear friends that i care about deeply. my only regret: not having enough time to see everyone and call everyone. silly 24 hour days...

MARCH
- shawna was gone for the first part of the month in seattle for a class, so i hung out with the kids and decompressed from my trip
- the whole snow clan went to switzerland with our friends and neighbors, wanda and paul. they have a chalet in the mountains near martigny - wow. so cliche 'swiss chalet' it was incredible. such a fun expereince and made more friends up there - particularly a darling gentleman by the name of jean-françios who opened up his home us - best raclette ever.
- we worked really hard on RECKONING stuff (the non-profit started in shawna's name) and putting together a project for the beginning of may in a small village called nieuwkoop
- embellish (my company) had 2 catering jobs in one night! one for galery wm, the other for a birthday party for 80+ people - great success!

APRIL
- hitting the ground hard with RECKONING - meeting daily to finalize and execute the business plan, strategies, marketing materials and other pertinent information - maximizing contacts...
- the snow house was full again - family, friends, work.... shawna's mom, step-sis and her daughter came out (very fun to hang with the girls) followed by our dear friend, christine, who came out here to teach a class to us, the RECKONING team, on transformational team-building, followed by a class on transformational education (more friends - deborah and donna from portland flew out for this class, as it is part of the master's program shawna and deborah are a part of. the rest of us were invited to be in this since it is THEIR teams that will be afftected by these learning tasks and strategies). this information and intense time will be INCREDIBLY VITAL to the development and sturcture of RECKONING - sooooo great and it was an immense privilage to be a part of this.
- david young came out which was awesome (i you don't know this character, you should).
- april 30 - queen's day and ari's birthday - some of you may know about queen's day, but until you have seen it, there is little i can say to describe it. the city was a veritable madhouse and it was a great time. if you can, come out for it sometime soon.... it is really something not to miss.

MAY
- ending of the class with christine and more really good conversations and insights with her
- alycia arrived to join the RECKONING team!!!! very exciting and she is proving to be a very very needed part of the group (as we knew she would be :) )
- i turned 28... woohoo. please see the video that my AWESOME brother made for me... http://youtube.com/watch?v=BW6YqC-uMp8
could he be any cooler?
- our friend dave bart was out visiting - good times.
- did some grasssroots marketing for embellish - walked with a tray of food to all the ateliers participating in the "open atelier de jordaan" to get my name out there... good times.
- our project in nieuwkoop ended up getting postponed, but it is for the best
- finished applications for funding for RECKONING to a couple of major funding groups - we shall see! but the bigger thing, is that we are finding favor in the city here with RECKONING - the people that we are meeting with are not only on board, b ut they are pulling strings and inviting us in further to make this a reality! they are ally see the need for it and really beileve that we can make a true diffference in the city by combining public space art and transformational education!!!!!! this is so great!!!!

JUNE
- here we go.... working more on RECKONING with finalizing marketing materials and researching more funding avenues, etc.
- working on embellish and some potentially big projects with some cross-continent art exchanges... we shall see and i will keep you posted. this month is all about streamlining the business, maximizing contacts and really identifying key connectors for my business so that i can make a living here and stay in the country to continue to live in this community and LOVE the people that God has placed in my path here
- shawna and i had a meeting this morning with some culture and art planners for the city to participate in a festival in 2 weeks that will give RECKONING a presence in the bos en lommer area (the first neighborhood here that we are going to do a RECKONING project) - very excited to see what will come of that!

in the middle of all of these things that i have described above (if you are still reading this ;)), there has been really deep and maeningful changes in the lives of friends of ours here, in our own lives and in the shaping of the community of people that we have become connected with. We are finding favor in the city as a whole, and beyond that, the deep soul-changing building of relationships is taking place in very real and beautiful ways. i can't describe to you how much i feel the support and prayers of all of the people that i have been connected with thoughout this whole process - you have carried me and us and i am deeply thankful for you.

big stuff coming through little changes - and daily "fighting the war on boring" as my new friend elijah would say. i think that we are fighting more than boring, but i can tell you that life here is anything but boring as a result! if you made it to the end of this email, i hope that you are NOT bored, but rather encouraged and hungry to learn more about what is going on here - i would love to hear from you and hear more about what is going on in your corner of the world! i know that there have been big changes in your lives, and things get crazy and it is hard to keep up - but let's not let that stop us :) please know that you are always close in heart and mind.
much love and peace.... more to come soon ;)

please check my picaca site over the next couple of days... i am putting up pictures there, but am waiting today for more GB space! they should be up and with notes on them tomorrow so that you can get the visual tour of life here over the past couple of months ;)